Dark
by Anei Aikouka
Summary: Ryou is captured one day as he comes home from school. Who did it and why? Not really anything. Rating just to be safe.
1. Ch 1 Captive

A/N: This is just a weird story I wrote with no idea of where it's heading. Thanks for your patience with me in reading this. ^^

Disclaimer: Just because I want it to be does not mean that YGO is mine.

(Ryou's POV)

            I'm in a small room where the only light comes from the curtained off windows. If I strain my eyes I can see a small table near me and four chairs around it but there is nothing else in the room. I still don't know how I got here...

             (Flashback) Ryou walked home from school casually swinging his backpack from one hand. The first day of this new school had been a cinch and he was in a good mood. A cloth was shoved over his mouth as he breathed in and an arm wrapped itself around his waist. He tried to struggle but quickly fell into unconsciousness. (End flashback)

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(Bakura's thoughts)

            Damn that Marik! Why'd he have to dump his latest toy in my house without even telling me?! Unlike most people I have no problem with his habits of picking up kids off the street and torturing them. Actually I think it's kind of fun but that doesn't mean that he can just dump some kid in my house and then forget about them until they're probably half-starved. Marik told me that he'd actually got the kid for me because he looked like me but I don't think I believe him. I think that he was just trying to calm me down so I didn't lose my temper and blast him or something like that. Oh well, torturing this kid should be fun anyway...

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(Ryou's POV)

            I've been here for three days now and I'm freezing. Not being able to move I've stiffened into this position and my back aches. My wrists and ankles are chained together and connected somehow so I can't stand up or do anything and I'm desperate to get out of here somehow. My throat is parched but at least I can't feel the hunger pangs anymore, I guess my body's just got used to being hungry. As I look back down at the floor I feel a touch of amusement. Whoever chained me up in here is going to have to wash their floor once they get rid of me or I die of dehydration.

            After spending three days in this hellhole I find myself wishing for human companionship. Funny, I never did think much of friendship but now I wish there was someone else here. I don't even care who, I'd be glad even to talk to the person who put me in here if they would just be here so I don't have to be all alone. I can't stand being here all alone without a way out. I wouldn't mind being here if there was only someone else here too.

Light.

            Painful blinding brightness bursts in on my eyes and as purple spots explode inside my head I squeeze them shut to protect myself from the onslaught. When my eyes have adjusted and the blinding purple splotches have disappeared I open them cautiously and stare at the shadowy figure leaning on the doorframe. Spiky silver-white hair frames a pale face and cruel angular brown eyes. He is wearing an unbuttoned button-up shirt, which allows me to see a weird piece of jewelry shaped sort of like a dream catcher around his neck, and blue jeans. In one hand he is carrying a glass of water with a straw in it and is casually sipping it. He doesn't seem surprised to see me here so he is probably the one responsible for my being here in the first place.

            "Thirsty?" he asks mockingly shoving himself up and onto his feet. I just stare at him in complete amazement. I don't see why he, or anyone for that matter, would want to kidnap me and now he's acting like this. This whole situation is seriously messed up.

            "If you don't want any you could try saying so, hmm?" When my eyes widen in alarm he chuckles and strolls over till he's standing right in front of me and I have to crane my neck to see him properly. He somehow manages to slip gracefully into a sitting position in front of me and holds the drink in front of me teasingly.

            "Please," I whisper licking dry lips my eyes shifting to the glass in his hand, "Please, could I, have some of that?"

            "You only had to ask," he murmurs holding the straw to my mouth so that I can drink. I drink greedily, sucking up the life-giving fluid, relishing the sensation of the cool liquid sliding down my throat. Too quickly it is gone and I stare longingly at the empty glass. The man chuckles again before standing up and slipping out the door. It is only a few seconds before he returns but it seems like forever.

A/N: Sorry about the POV changes and the stupid name. This is just a really strange fic that I do when I get ideas that are totally unrelated to anything else. So since I'm not writing anything on 'Bound by Threads' I'm posting this for you instead. Aren't I nice? ^^


	2. Ch 2

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Bakura's thoughts)  
Blast this whole situation to the shadow realm and back! I think I'm going soft! I was going to have a little fun with the kid's mind teasing him with the water but when he looked at me like that I just couldn't. I still can't believe that I actually gave it to him but what I'm *really* having a hard time believing is that I'm actually getting him another glass. Maybe I should just kill the stupid kid now and get it over with. That's what I'm going to do in the end isn't it? Or...maybe not, perhaps I'll just keep the boy. That...could be fun. Especially if I lead him to think that I'm not going to. *Evil laugh*  
  
(Third-person POV)  
"What's your name kid?" Bakura inquired as he walked in again with another glass and a plate of sandwiches.  
"I'm Ryou," Ryou told him eyeing the food hungrily. "Who're you?"  
"My name is Bakura, and your life belongs to me." Bakura stated matter-of-factly as he slid the food onto the table.  
"What exactly do you mean by that?"  
"I mean that I'm going to kill you."  
"What!? Wh- Why? And if you were just planning on killing me then why go to all the trouble of bringing me here?"  
"I didn't bring you here and I'm going to have to kill you because you're here and this place is a secret. You're not supposed to be here."  
"O-Oh" Tears slid down Ryou's cheeks as he stared up at Bakura looking so sad that Bakura actually felt sorry for him.  
"Sh little one," Bakura said softly crouching down and running gentle fingers over his face, wiping away the tears. "Calm down. You know, I think I'll keep you. Unless you object that is."  
"R-Really? You're not going to-to kill me?"  
"Na, you're too cute to kill. Just kidding, I don't know why I decided not to kill you. You're just lucky I guess... ...Or not. Some people would rather die than belong to me. Of course, they're the smart ones. The stupid ones would agree and then try to run away."  
Ryou couldn't think of anything to say to that especially as Bakura definitely seemed to mean what he'd said. He just stared dumbfounded at the older boy while Bakura walked around him and did something, Ryou couldn't tell what, that got rid of the chains around his ankles. Ryou tried to change position and fell over instead, too stiff to be able to move properly. Bakura, amused at his prisoner's antics, smirked and pulled him up, shoving him down beside one of the chairs at the table. Ryou struggled to keep his balance with his hands still chained together behind him and ended up leaning against the chair that Bakura sat down in next to him.  
Bakura fed Ryou like he was a baby and Ryou found that he actually enjoyed it. He would rather have been able to feed himself but as that was obviously something he couldn't do this was a rather pleasant alternative. At least he didn't have to try and do it himself, which would probably have ended up making a mess.  
After Ryou and Bakura between them had devoured the food Ryou asked Bakura what he'd meant when he said that he didn't bring him into this place and how he'd got there if the location of this place was a secret. Bakura explained that it wasn't just the location that was a secret it was the fact that the place existed at all. Before Ryou could ask anything else Bakura stood up and started showing Ryou around the house. To Ryou's complete embarrassment he was so stiff that he couldn't stand up on his own and Bakura had to half carry him around.  
The house was made to feel spacious by keeping the amount of space actually used to a minimum but the rooms were really quite small. There were two bedrooms, a tiny kitchen, a bathroom, and the dining room/living room which Ryou had been kept in. There were also no doors and no obvious way to get out except by the windows in the dining room which were the only ones in the place. By the time Ryou had seen all this he was able to walk on his own and was starting to regain the feeling in his legs again. He was also quite curious about how this place worked.  
There were no unlocked cupboards, no electrical outlets, no sharp corners and nothing that could be used as a weapon in sight. In short, the house looked like it had been baby-proofed. There were also no clocks anywhere, and the house did 't look like it had been lived in. Everything was spotless with no dirt or dust anywhere and Ryou had noticed that his dirty shoes didn't leave footprints behind. Also the crumbs that had accumulated while the two had eaten and the... mess Ryou had made weren't there anymore when they re-entered the room.  
This whole thing was just... weird. It had to be some kind of joke, right? But why would anyone go to all this trouble just to play a joke on him? And if it was a joke then why was this Bakura guy acting like he was. Bakura gave Ryou the creeps and it wasn't just the similarities in their appearance, or the fact that Bakura was Ryou's last name. There was just something about his eyes. They looked cold and cruel. And the mocking way he'd been shown around, as if Bakura was aping the role of a host.  
Ryou blushed as he saw the table again and his thoughts drifted to the way Bakura had fed him. He shouldn't be affected like this, Bakura had as much as said that he had no problems with the idea of killing him. So why was he so affected by the other?  
'It's the fact that he's the first human I've seen in this place.' Ryou thought to himself reassuringly. 'I'd react the same way no matter who it was. Or how hot they were... Wait a second; I did *not* just think that. No way could I call him hot! It's his fault I'm here in the first place.'  
  
A/N: Sorry! *cringes* I wrote this ages ago and I'm not changing it even though I know it sucks. Oh well, Owari. 


	3. Ch 3

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Marik's POV)  
I wonder how Bakura's doing with his little pet. Stupid thief-baka; didn't even believe me when I said I'd got the boy for him. He's just lucky I told him. If I hadn't the kid might've starved to death before Bakura even saw him and that wouldn't have been any fun. I did think he would've at least been to his house. I mean, how many people are there who would stay away from their house for four days in a row!  
Idiot; thinking of what he said made me feel irritated again. Guess it's time to pay Malik a little visit. I do love to hear him scream. Scream, cry, beg, and plead; he should know by now that begging for mercy is useless. I don't have any mercy. Mercy is for the weak and the weak die. He's weak and helpless now and he's learned that. He's learned to obey me. Now I can just play with him whenever I want, I don't have to worry about him trying to escape. Heh, as if he could escape. It provided for an interesting distraction though, watching him run around like mad trying to get out until he exhausted himself. I had to teach him another lesson after that. He isn't allowed to try and escape. He shouldn't try to resist me at all. I'm glad he's learned that...  
  


* * *

  
(Next day, Marik's POV)  
I yawn and stretch, ignoring Malik's soft cry of protest as my movements irritate his wounds. Now to see about paying Bakura a little visit; I don't know why but I always feel better with him around. He's like my brother, who died I'm not quite sure how long ago. Couple thousand years maybe? I didn't leave him, even after I became a vampire. But humans are mortal, they die, and my brother eventually died, while I stayed the same.  
I was really lonely till I met him. It was a couple of hundred years after my brother died and I still hadn't left Egypt. I couldn't bear to leave the place where we had been happy together for so long. And then I met Bakura, he said was running away from some other vampire who was trying to control him. He taught me all the things that vampires can do that I'd never known about and helped me get over my brothers death. He's sort of become a surrogate brother now and I never want him to leave me.  
I call him and start bitching about him not believing me. He listens for a while before interrupting me in the middle of a sentence. "Yeah, yeah, I know; you were right I should have believed you."  
"Good, maybe you'll listen to me now." I reply slightly irritated at the interruption. "Anyway, did you kill him yet?"  
"Huh? No, I didn't."  
"Okay, I'm coming over to see you and the kid."  
"You are?"  
"Yup, can't leave you alone too long you'll just get yourself into trouble. And I still haven't forgiven you for not believing me."  
"Look, I already *said* sorry,"  
"Okay, whatever, oh yeah, and I'm gonna bring Malik along too."  
"What? Why..."  
"Because I want him to meet your little pet," I interrupt him in turn, "Maybe he can set an example of obedience as you won't have had time to teach the boy."  
"Oh, I see,"  
"Good, I'll see you when I get there,"  
"You're not going to try and *walk* here are you? I still haven't found a way to make this place accessible from the outside."  
"Of course not, I'm going to teleport. I'm not an idiot; I'm just not in any fit state to go anywhere yet."  
"Okay then, see ya,"  
"See ya," and I hung up. "Get up Malik-baka; you've got to get dressed. We're going out." My little mortal's eyes shoot open and he stares at me with a panicky expression as I pull out some clothes for him as well as my normal outfit. This is going to be fun. 


	4. Ch 4

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Ryou's POV)  
I hate this! It's so embarrassing! I can't do *anything* on my own. *He* has to help me! If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here, and if he'd just take these damned handcuffs off me I wouldn't need his help! It's all *his* fault and he doesn't even care. He *likes* seeing me like this. How can he enjoy keeping me powerless and completely dependant on him for everything?! I can't eat, can't wash, can't even use the bathroom without him helping me and I hate it! *sigh*  
It's better than how I was before though. Better to be dependant on someone else for my basic needs than to have no way to fulfill them. At least he does feed me. And he hasn't killed me yet. How can he be so sanguine about it though? It isn't every day that you have someone living in your house that you keep chained up and helpless. Yet he acts as though this were routine! Is he insane, or *does* he do this often. Now that's a scary thought.  
*Ring, Ring* Hey, was that a phone ringing? I didn't see any phones here. I guess it must have been though 'cause *he's* wandering in here with a phone held to his ear listening to whoever's on the other line. Oh, I see, it's a cell phone, that's why I didn't see it. He must have had it in his pocket earlier.  
"Yeah, yeah, I know; you were right I should have believed you... Huh, no I didn't... You are? ... Look, I already *said* sorry... What? Why... Oh, I see... You're not going to try and *walk* here are you? I still haven't found a way to make this place accessible from the outside... Okay then, see ya,"  
Bakura thumbed off the phone and turned to me. "Well, looks like we're gonna have visitors. Which of course means that you're going to have to get changed."  
What!!!? Is he crazy?!! I'm not going to get changed. It's bad enough that he had to help me in the bathroom earlier I'm *not* going to let him undress me.  
"And you've got to have a shower too. You're covered in," he winced, "muck."  
Well, okay, I guess I really have got to get clean after all. Wait a second, how am I supposed to clean myself with my hands tied? Nuh uh, he is *not* going to wash me.  
"Oh really," he asked archly. Uh oh, did I say that out loud? "And just how do you think you're going to stop me?"  
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(Bakura's POV)  
Little idiot, how does he think he's going to get clean if I don't wash him? The look on his face when I answered his thought was priceless too. Hasn't he at least figured out that if there's something strange about this place there's going to be something strange about the one who lives here too? Mmm, he does look delicious, he's lucky I'm not Marik or I would have taken him by now. I wash him quickly, before doing the same to myself and stepping out, leaving the water still running over him, to dry myself off.  
Dry and dressed in one of my favorite outfits, black leather pants and a cream lace-up shirt with the laces threaded through but left untied, I grab a matching outfit in brown for him. He scowls as I turn the water off and pull him from the shower, then tries to protest as I dress him. He doesn't realize till after I'm done that it wasn't possible for me to put the shirt on him without first freeing his hands and tries to pull them apart, only to be shocked once again when he finds that they are still connected.  
I laugh coldly before pulling him into the living room which now has a couch and several comfy chairs with a TV on the table and shoving him down beside the couch. He decides to be smart and not try to move as I turn the TV on and sit on the couch to watch it.  
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(Ryou's POV)  
How did he manage to do that? No one could pull on a shirt when they're wearing handcuffs but he somehow managed to get me in one without freeing my wrists. And how did he manage to change the dining room into a living room so fast? Where did he get that TV from? And, hold on, how can he possibly watch TV when the thing isn't even plugged in?  
Before I can figure it out I get another surprise. Two teens just appear in front of the TV. Both have lavender eyes with strange tattoos under them, tanned skin, and sandy blond hair but it is easy to tell them apart. One's hair sticks up in spikes like one of the DBZ characters while the other's falls naturally down his back. The spiky-haired one's eyes are cruel and he's wearing a purple hoodie that stops several inches above his low slung baggy pants and lots of gold jewelry. The other keeps his head down, eyes on the floor and is wearing embarrassingly tight leather pants and a dog collar (A/N no shirt, drool).  
"Hi Bakura!" the spiky haired one says enthusiastically "I'm here! Did you miss me?"  
"Miss you? Heck no! Why should I miss someone who's constantly yelling at me? Oh, Ryou," He adds absently "This is Marik and the other one is Malik. Come sit down, what do you want to drink?"  
The last was aimed at Marik who plopped down on the couch and asked for a beer. Bakura left the room and came back with two beers as Malik walked over to kneel beside Marik at the other end of the couch. Marik sipped his beer while absently stroking Malik's hair. I couldn't do anything but stare; how could they act like that? Marik acted like Malik was his dog or something and Malik just, let him. He'd even knelt on his own without being forced to or anything.  
"What are you-" I was rudely interrupted by Bakura slapping me across the face.  
"Don't speak unless you're asked a question, Brat."  
"But-" another slap.  
"Didn't you hear me? I said, don't talk."  
I just stared up at him feeling myself start to cry. How could he do this to me? I hated him then, hated him passionately for being the way he was and for accepting this scene and for everything. He was just plain evil. 


	5. Ch 5

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Malik's POV)  
This was not what I expected when Marik told me that we would be going out. I mean, sure I knew that we would be going to see Bakura, there's nowhere else that he'll actually take me, but I didn't expect that Bakura would have gotten himself a 'pet'; it didn't seem like him. Bakura wasn't the kind of person who would go out and kidnap somebody to make them into his slave. He was actually slightly decent, unlike Marik.  
The boy, whose name I found out is Ryou, is acting stupid too. He doesn't know to keep his head down and he's trying to talk. Of course Bakura slaps him and then the wimp starts to cry. I mean, he didn't even hit the kid hard enough to bruise. I've had enough experience by now to be able to tell.  
"Is your little pet giving you trouble Bakura?" Marik asked in his rich voice.  
"Oh, shut up," Bakura replied sharply "This is your fault anyway. If you hadn't kidnapped him in the first place I wouldn't have to deal with him." So that's what happened. I didn't think that he'd just kidnap the kid, even if they did share a resemblance.  
"Yes, but if you'd just drained him when I told you about him then he wouldn't be alive to make trouble now would he?"  
"Yeah, well, after him having been in here for three days straight before I found out about him it wouldn't have done me much good would it? And it's too late now."  
"Hn, I guess, Malik-Baka go talk to the brat. Somewhere else, not in this room, he's annoying me."  
"Hai Master," I reply as I stand, walking over to Ryou and pulling him into the guest bedroom. He seems surprised by my compliance and starts babbling something about evil and wrong as soon as we get into the room. I clamp a hand over his mouth as I pull the door shut and he seems to get the picture. "What is it?" I ask him softly once the door is closed.  
"How do you put up with them?" He says indignantly.  
"What do you mean? It's not as though I actually have a *choice* you know." I reply sharply glaring at the boy. It's bad enough that I've got to be Marik's pet; I've gotten used to that, but to have some kid questioning me about it? That's just too much. Why, oh why do I have to be stuck in here with this idiot?  
"How can you not have a choice? Everyone can choose their own behavior."  
"Yeah, sure I could disobey. Only problem with that is that if I did, then I wouldn't even be able to move once master Marik had gotten through with me. I disobeyed a lot at first but soon got tired of screaming my throat raw every time I annoyed him."  
"What!! But that's, that's just –"  
"Wrong, horrible, insane?" I say mockingly. "It's the way of things when you're a vampire's slave."  
"V-vampire y-you mean they're-"  
"Yeah, duh they're vampires, didn't you know that already? What are you anyway a simpleton?" Now I'm really annoyed. Doesn't he know anything?  
"But, vampires, as in drinking your blood?" Ryou sounded almost hysterical.  
"Yeah, again but not mine." My hand went to my neck as I remembered the time Bakura had decided to reward me; I don't remember what I did. The sensation had been overwhelming and almost addictive. For that I could have become as much of a slave as I was now, or more, and willingly, just to repeat that marvelous sensation. "At least, not more than once and I'd do anything to get bitten again. It's just the most wonderful, marvelous, *perfect*, sensation ever."  
"Uh... o, oh," Ryou now sounded stunned. The little baka. What did I do to deserve this?  
"You want me to answer that?" Bakura's voice rings in my head and I turn to face him trying to look at him without raising my head. "Or maybe Marik should, it was his idea after all."  
"I told you. Hopefully he'll teach the kid some manners. I'm going off to visit Yami. He sent me a note saying he wanted to see me. You can keep Malik while I'm gone if you'd like."  
"Sure, sounds good to me," Bakura replied. "When are you going?"  
"Uh, right now. Sorry." And Marik vanished.  
"Well that was... strange. What does Yami want now I wonder?" Bakura muttered; then he shrugged "Whatever, Malik, would you explain the rules to Ryou? I'm too fed up to be bothered."  
"Yes, Bakura-sama," I reply. I'm glad that Marik isn't here. He would've slapped me for using Bakura's name. Bakura just chuckles and walks off.  
"Okay," I turn back to Ryou. "Since you don't seem to know anything I'll just start with the most obvious and go on from there. Okay?"  
"Um, what does he mean by rules?"  
"Rules, you know, the things you have to do to keep *them* happy with you. If they aren't pleased then you're in trouble."  
"Yes," Ryou replied, subdued for once, "I think I'm starting to see that."  
"You've barely scratched the surface, but, oh well. Anyway, first and most important do whatever they tell you to without questioning it. If they want you to do something then do it, and it doesn't matter if it hurts; it'll hurt more if you don't. Then, always keep your head down and your eyes on the ground, or at least make it look like you've got your eyes on the ground.  
"You've already been told to not speak unless either one of them asks you a question or they've given you permission. It's a good idea to kneel beside them whenever they sit down or stop moving but I'm not sure exactly how strict Bakura is on that one. Um, when one of them is in the room don't do anything unless you're told and then hop to it. Never complain about anything they do unless you like pain..." 


	6. Ch 6

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Ryou's POV)  
I was slowly beginning to resign myself to the situation. Knowing that Malik had the same problems helped too and I listened closely to the rules as he detailed them to me. These sounded like the kind of thing I would expect to read in a really farfetched novel like the ones I'd seen some of the boys reading during lunch breaks.  
"...Marik insists on being called 'master' but Bakura doesn't seem to mind if you use his name." Malik had just finished saying when Bakura poked his head in through the door.  
"If it weren't for Marik's insistence I wouldn't let you call me anything else." His voice sounded cocky, although maybe it was just my imagination, "You're doing fine though, carry on."  
"Thank you Bakura-sama," Malik said softly. "I'm glad that you approve."  
"How could I not with you being so good and all. 'Sides it's not as if I could do any better. I don't like reciting lists. You've got about a half hour before dinner by the way; I suggest you use it wisely." He left again and I stared at the spot where he'd been resentfully.  
Then I realized something, "He doesn't seem too bad at the moment. I mean, the way he's acting now you wouldn't think he'd actually agree with the rules you've been listing would you?"  
"Na," Malik replied, "It's just the way he is. He may be better than Marik but that doesn't mean he's soft. He just acts that way. That changes if you've done something wrong though. Get on his bad side and you're in major trouble."  
"Oh. I think I'm starting to see what's going on. But why'd you say that Bakura's better than Marik? He doesn't really seem any different to me."  
"That's because you don't know Marik." Malik said grimly, "Bakura is much better to be around. Not that he isn't just as good, or better, at causing pain. He just doesn't use his skills as much. Come on; let's talk about something different. Who are you? You never got around to telling me."  
"That's 'cause there isn't really much to tell. My name's Ryou and my mother died when I was really little..."  
Dinner that night was much the same as the last meal I had had except that this time Malik was on the ground at the other end of the table eating from a bowl he had balanced on his knees. I don't mind being fed anymore but I'd still be embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that Malik seems to think this is all perfectly normal. It's good food too. Thin strips of beef cooked to perfection and fried potato slices; the perfect food for feeding piece by piece to a helpless child.  
Comparing myself to a helpless child isn't far off actually. In normal situations I'm self-sufficient but here not only am I severely handicapped I'm also unfamiliar with the protocol etc, despite Malik's lecture on what to and not to do.  
It doesn't matter though, I'm sure Bakura will take care of everything. After what he's done and all Malik's warnings I don't know why I trust him but it seems to be almost a reflex now.  
After dinner Bakura puts me to bed. Once more I'm embarrassed as he undresses me and tucks me into bed but I do realize I couldn't do it on my own. "Good night little one," he says gently before switching off the lights and stepping out of the room.  
"Good night," I call after him but I don't think he hears me. 


	7. Ch 7

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Malik's POV)  
"Come here Malik." Bakura said after he came out of Ryou's room.  
I stood up and walked over to him, kneeling and looking up at him through my hair with a feeling of dread, wondering what the problem was and what I'd done wrong. Finally he spoke, running a hand nervously through his hair as he did so, "*Why* does Marik want me to sleep with you?"  
"I don't know Bakura-sama" I say, frightened by the idea as well as being amused at his nervousness.  
"Oh well, guess I'll have to see if I can't get a proper answer out of him. What are looking like that for?"  
"N, no reason Bakura-sama," I stutter, unsure of what I'd done now, "I, I was j, just wondering w, what he said his reason was."  
"He said that he wanted you to stay accustomed to it." Bakura replied, "And of course I know what *that* means."  
"I, I'm s, sorry if it displeases you. P, please, I didn't,"  
"Shut up." Bakura interjected harshly. "Stop cringing like that. If I was angry with you you'd know."  
I quickly stopped and tried to relax. It was impossible. I didn't know whether he was going to do as Marik had asked or not. And, I didn't want him to but I *really* didn't want Marik to be angry with me.  
"Well then," Bakura smirked suddenly, "I don't think I'll do that. If you don't mind that is?" I shook my head quickly. "You use my bed, and keep an eye on Ryou. I'm going hunting."  
"Uh, Bakura-sama?" I asked him.  
"Yes?"  
"Y, you don't need to if you don't want to. I..."  
"Yes, you're right. At least, I don't need to spend as much time hunting if you're willing to let me drink from you."  
Bakura stepped up behind me, pulled me to my feet, and wrapped his arms around me, pulling my head backwards slightly. The collar slid down; hitting the floor with a muffled thud. I closed my eyes and moaned as he slid his fangs into my neck. I can't describe the sensation of that wonderful moment. Nothing I could say would do it justice. When he finally pulled away I was drained and slightly dizzy but it didn't matter. Nothing did. He carefully tucked me into his bed and brushed my hair away from the bite.  
"See you in the morning." said Bakura quietly, and with he that turned and left. I smiled, snuggling into the sheets and fell asleep almost instantly.  
  
A/N: I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. 


	8. Ch 8

Disclaimer: See first chapter.  
  
(Third Person POV)  
"And just what is going on here?" Marik inquired dangerously, standing above Malik who had just been woken up by his arrival.  
"I, I haven't done anything master, please don't hurt me!" Malik cried. Marik sneered and slapped him across the face before roughly pulling him out of bed and dropping him on the floor. Malik instantly got into a kneeling position in front of Marik and waited for whatever was coming next. Probably a punishment for something; he wasn't sure what he'd done now.  
"What is it?" Bakura asked irritably, walking into the room and looking around in surprise. "And what's Malik done *now*?"  
"I *asked* you to," Marik was cut off by the irate fiend.  
"Oh is *that* it.? I thought it was something important. Fact is I refuse. *You* can do what you like but I'm not going to rape him and that's final."  
"So you didn't get any use out of him?" Marik sounded disappointed. "I'd thought it was him who'd refused."  
"Since when have I let some mortal's refusal stop me?" Bakura asked, "If I'd wanted to I would have. And yes, I did get some use out of him." Bakura smirked and licked his lips. "He tastes good you know."  
"No actually I didn't. Never tried. C'mere Malik."  
Malik walked over to him, shaking, and Marik sunk his fangs into the boy's unprotected neck. Malik had to bite back a cry of pain as Marik's teeth penetrated his skin and couldn't keep himself from crying out at the sensation of blood being sucked out at an extremely fast rate.  
Marik pulled back almost immediately though, and looked over at Bakura with a sneer on his face. "I always did forget that we have very different ideas of what tastes good."  
"Yes," Bakura replied, unshaken, "I prefer blood sweetened with pleasure whereas you only like the flavors of pain and terror. Probably because I've drunk my own blood on occasion and you haven't. *I* think he tastes good anyway."  
Marik snorted, "And he probably prefers it that way. You're gentler than I am."  
"And with good reason Marik. Since you're here I might as well get everyone up ne? What went on with Yami anyway?"  
"He wanted to ask some questions. Seems old Peggy's back and Shadi too. He wanted to know what we knew about it all so he'd be prepared."  
"Did he want any help?"  
"Na, you know Yami, he always manages to do all right on his own."  
"Yeah, that's our game king, always wins no matter what." Bakura's voice held possessive pride. "Pegasus isn't hard to beat anyway. It's Shadi that's the problem."  
"What do mean Pegasus isn't hard to beat?! He was King of the Vampires for years."  
"Yeah, and then Yami turned up and beat him and I fought him afterwards to see if I was any good after Yami had beaten me and he was a cinch. I think he went soft because everyone was too scared to challenge him."  
"Scream," a harsh voice said somewhere nearby.  
"That doesn't sound good." Bakura said and walked into the living room. "'togi?"  
The black-haired boy turned away from Ryou, who was trembling uncontrollably, and fixed his piercing green eyes on Bakura. "Who is this? He doesn't seem to know anything."  
"He's just someone Marik picked up a couple of days ago. And you're right. He doesn't know anything. What are you doing here?"  
"So I can't come to visit now?" The boy asked.  
"Whatever, we'll talk later I guess. This is Otogi by the way," Bakura said.  
"Okay, fine *be* that way," Otogi sulked, "I wanted to see if you're going to help us that's all."  
"No, sorry, this time I think we're firmly on Yami's side." Marik said, coming into the room with Malik trailing behind him.  
"Oh," Otogi pouted, then shrugged, "Bye then," and he vanished.  
"Good riddance," Marik muttered. "The stupid fool."  
Marik irritably waved Malik off and he went to comfort Ryou, who still seemed shaken by his encounter with Otogi.  
"You know, I've just had a horrible thought." Bakura said suddenly.  
"Really, what's that?" Marik asked.  
"I don't know how to train him," Bakura said gloomily, staring at Ryou.  
Marik started laughing uncontrollably, and trying to talk in between giggles. "Y, you don't, don't know how to t, train him?" He waited until he had calmed down and then went on. "Same way you train a dog really. Whenever he does something wrong punish him. And if he's especially good then reward him. Not that *that* happens often."  
Malik looked up indignantly, 'I am not a dog!' Bakura could hear the thought running through his mind.  
"No and not particularly like one either," Bakura answered him. "Oh well, guess I'll just have to try and hope for the best. Are you *sure* there isn't some other way of doing this?"  
"Bakura, you are so stupid sometimes!" Marik said in exasperation. "Don't *you* know any other ways?"  
"I do; I just don't want to hurt him."  
"You're kidding me right?" Marik asked, looking at Bakura strangely. Bakura shook his head, gaining a disgusted look, "However you managed to beat Pegasus with that attitude I don't know."  
"I never said I *wouldn't* if he causes problems I just don't want to. You know if 'togi's trying to get support there must be something wrong. Why would Shadi get *Otogi* to help him?"  
"You're right. It's strange. What is Otogi trying to do lately do you know?"  
"Something to do with Seto I think. You know Set's always been trying to get the throne off Yami. He wouldn't do anything dishonorable though. I think 'togi's just trying to get some support for him. You know he'd do just about anything to get rid of Yami. He's never really forgiven him for beating Pegasus."  
"Speaking of beating Pegasus how does he feel about you now? I mean you beat him too didn't you?"  
"Yeah, but, well you know how Yami declared his a leadership fight not a fight to the death?"  
"You didn't kill him did you?"  
"No but I could've. Pegasus is a coward though and decided he'd rather lose his powers than be killed. I'd rather die any day."  
"Same here." Marik agreed. "So what do you want to do today? Can we go terrorize Keith's gang again?"  
"Sure, it's your turn to decide anyway." 


	9. Ch 9

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

(A couple of weeks later, Ryou's POV)

            I mewed and batted playfully at Bakura's knee. Bakura chuckled and fed me a strip of bacon. It had taken a while to get here but I had finally found a way to both keep Bakura happy and prevent me from having to abase myself too much. I refused to act the part of the obedient slave, which was the role Malik played, but I also didn't want to be constantly in pain. It was lucky for me that Bakura was willing to arrive at a compromise as long as I continued to be his pet.

            I was trying to think of something that would let me be less of a slave when I remembered something Bakura had said about wishing he could have a cat but not being able to spare the attention that a cat demands. So I'd decided I'd rather pretend to be his cat in this kind of situation than his slave. It's not too bad actually. Much like the games I used to play as a little kid. He's taken the handcuffs off now and as long as he's not in the room I can do whatever I want.

            Once when he was out I had practically destroyed the house to test that theory. It was quite fun actually. He ended up adding an exception to that rule. Now I can't do anything that will cause harm to myself or anything else. He was quite amused though, and said that if I didn't like the furniture could I try to show it some other way than destroying it.

            Marik's come over a few times and brought Malik with him. Now that I see what he meant about being a slave I've apologized for my attitude that first day. I see now that I was being extremely rude as well as annoying questioning him like that. He says I'm lucky that Bakura's willing to let me do what I want instead of having to do what he wants all the time.

            He also says that I'm lucky Bakura didn't want a bed toy. Now that I most definitely agree with. I do not want to be... that, and I hope I'll never have to be anything of the sort. I'm definitely better off than Malik. He seems to lead the most miserable life imaginable and I don't know how he manages to act so casual about it.

            There have been a number of visitors coming in and out lately, and I'm starting to understand what Marik and Bakura were talking about that first day. Apparently vampire politics are extremely complicated seeing as vampires aren't the only supernatural creatures around. They are the most powerful though, and that's why the vampires are the ones who rule over all the rest. Each city of any type has a vampire ruler and the one who rules over all creatures is the king of the vampires.

            The king of the vampires is the one who can defeat all contestants for the throne, and once every ten years there's a festival during which anyone can challenge the king. Traditionally the challenge fight is always a duel to the death but that rule has been waived lately as shown by what happened when the last king, Pegasus, was dethroned by the Yami they had talked about earlier. I had never seen him but he didn't sound too bad.

            The reason for the sudden increase in activity, Bakura told me, is that there are only two weeks until the challenge day, when Yami will face anyone who wishes to fight him for the throne. I hope he wins. Bakura wants him to after all.

            I'm rather hyper now but I have a good reason to be. Bakura says that he'll take me outside next time Malik and Marik come over. I haven't been outside or seen the sun since I woke up here. I'd thought at first that I could see sunlight if I opened the curtains but it turns out it's just an automatic light that's built to mimic the sunlight. So going out is going to be a wonderful treat. I wonder how we're going to get there though, and what he's planning to do outside. He'd never do anything like that just because I wanted it. Would he?


	10. Ch 10

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

AN: You asked for a longer chapter next time so is this any better? I got inspired and wrote a lot.

(On the street, Third person POV)

It had turned out that they were going into one of the vampiric (A/N did I spell that right?) cities. The vampires made up one fourth of the population, and when you added their slaves that made up almost half of the residents of the city. Most of the human residents were not aware that vampires existed. Although they had become used to some pretty strange things they just assumed that they were the product of new technology. The city had a lot of night clubs and other entertainment options which drew large crowds of people.

Malik and Ryou were told to stay with Marik and Bakura and they did try to, but the huge crowds were a problem for them. Not being as fast as the vampires they often dropped behind. Marik and Bakura got rather annoyed at this. Whenever Marik had to go back for Malik he slapped him across the face and after about a half hour Malik's face was covered in discoloring bruises.

"Come on," Bakura snapped at Ryou impatiently. "Do I have to put you on a leash or something?"

Ryou, deciding that it was actually a good idea because it would prevent him from falling behind and receiving the same punishment Malik was, nodded. Dropping down to all fours he grabbed Bakura's pant leg between his teeth and tugged him in the direction of the 'exotic pets' store. "Okay, okay," Bakura said impatiently. "I get the message. Did you get that Marik?"

Marik nodded, smirking at the idea of Ryou actually wanting a leash. "Get me one for Malik would you?" he asked.

"Sure. Come on then." Bakura pulled Ryou into the store, gave him a couple hundred yen, and sent him to get a tag while he bought a leash and collar. When they met up again outside Bakura displayed a thin brown collar that matched the color of Ryou's eyes, with a small silver bell dangling from it. The leash mirrored the color. To complete the ensemble Ryou had gotten a simple tag with two lines on it.

Ryou

Property of Bakura

Bakura laughed at the message and let Ryou put the collar on himself before attaching the leash and continuing his walk to wherever they were going. Ryou, freed from having to constantly watch Bakura to make sure he stayed with him, looked around curiously. He'd never been to a place like this before.

All the stores were decked in bright colors and many had neon lights on despite the bright daylight. Scantily clad women leaned out of windows or beckoned from behind half-closed doors. A few people lay sprawled out in corners obviously out of it. Both men and women staggered along the streets weaving in the manner of the more than slightly tipsy. Catcalls rang out as a later arrival came in, women wearing low-necked high skirted outfits, or men in leather with pieces cut out in suggestive designs allowing their skin to show through.

Expensive outfits and jewelry abounded as did jeans and faded t-shirts. This was a favored place for rich and poor alike. Ryou was just grateful that he blended in. With all of the exotic or gauche outfits around he looked practically normal in his white silk shirt and brown leather pants. Malik was wearing the same in black and lavender, and now a leash attached to the ever-present black collar.

Bakura wore a body-hugging blood-red satin shirt with low-slung black leather pants and Marik had dressed to match in tight leather pants and a close-fitting dark purple shirt of crushed velvet. The group attracted appreciative stares but didn't look out of place in the crowd. They would have looked absurd in an ordinary crowd but here they looked like all the other merry-makers.

After a while of this they turned down a darker street, shadowed by the huge casinos on either side. Ryou almost hadn't noticed it and wouldn't have if they hadn't turned on to it. Bakura followed Marik who made his way with ease along the narrow streets. They walked for a while before coming to a small shop with a simple plaque above the door saying 'Welcome'.

Marik turned into the shop and the others filed in behind him. A tall man hurried over to them, asking if they needed anything and whether they wanted anything more than the items they had ordered.

"There are several new and interesting artifacts that have come into my possession you see, and I was wondering whether you would like a look at them sirs." It was obvious that they were respected figures in vampire society.

"Certainly," Bakura said before Marik could object. "I'd love to."

Marik glared at him as the man scurried off. "Did you have to do that? Now we're going to be here all day."

"No we're not. And besides, there might be something interesting."

"In an antiques shop? I doubt it. The only reason I agreed to come here in the first place was because he can make really good weapons."

Bakura sighed, "Yes I know. But you should take an interest. Some of the things that he sells here are really great."

"Oh," Marik asked snidely, "Like what,"

Bakura smirked, "Like that, for example." He pointed to where the man was coming out from the back room with a beautifully carved jade horse.

"There are several pieces of jewelry also if you would like me to bring them out." The man said diffidently.

"I just want my knife." Marik said quickly.

"Yes sir." The man said calmly, producing a beautifully worked knife and handing it to Marik. "As you wish," then to Bakura, "Would my lord like to look at some of the other pieces?"

"Yes please," Bakura replied absently.

Marik spat in disgust, "Well you can stay here if you want." He tossed Malik's leash to Bakura. "I'm going to go have fun. Meet you at the Manger lieu Endroit at three okay?" (Manger lieu Endroit means something like eating place in French. I used my crappy French dictionary to find the words separately because I wanted something fancier than just restaurant.)

"Okay, sounds good. Why are you leaving Malik here with me though?"

"That isn't obvious?" Marik asked. "Where I'm going he'd only get in the way."

"Right. Got you." Bakura said. "See you later then."

"The gentleman forgot to pay my lord," the man said anxiously.

"Huh? Oh, right, Katsuya, it doesn't matter. Just add it to my bill when we're finished here. Now, you said something about jewelry?"

That was the beginning of an extremely enjoyable day for the three of them. Bakura bought something for each boy. Malik received an armband in the shape of a gold dragon, with amethyst eyes and scales picked out in detail, each one having an amethyst edging. Ryou got a silver unicorn pendant with deep brown eyes. Bakura also ended up buying the jade horse as well as an amber dragon, several delicately worked filigree boxes of varying materials and values, a set of bone hair pieces, and a dragon pendant in silver with scales of various types of pearl and brown eyes.

After that, as it wasn't time to meet up with Marik yet, Bakura took them on a whirlwind tour of the city. They bought bonbons and toffees in the multi-cultured section, ribbons, jewelry, and pictures from the street vendors, and hot pies, cakes, and ice creams from several restaurants, which Bakura seemed to be well known at. Malik didn't think he'd be allowed to keep anything, but Bakura insisted that he at least wear the armband he'd bought for him.

Right before they got to the Manger lieu Endroit Bakura bought them both carved wooden boxes to put their stuff in. Marik took one look at them and made a face. "What have you been doing? You look like proper fools."

"Enjoying ourselves Marik," Bakura replied, tossing Malik's leash back to Marik, "Isn't that what you're supposed to do here? And I don't think we look stupid, we just look like the people who had to save up for ages to get here and are determined to enjoy themselves."

"Yeah, and they look stupid. What have you done to Malik?"

"Me?? Nothing. I just bought him a few things."  
"That's what I mean," Marik was getting annoyed. "You're pampering him. If you keep doing that he's going to end up being disobedient."

"Oh come off it Marik. You've got him way too well trained. Besides, this is the first time he's been outside since you caught him. Don't you think he deserves to have it a special occasion?"

Marik sighed, "No, not really, but I'm not going to argue with you. I'd just lose. Come on; let's go get something to eat." Bakura nodded, and followed him as he towed Malik inside. The inside of the building was entirely different from the outside. From the outside it looked old and worn, not a very nice place, but the inside was magnificent. The ceilings were high and lofty, the walls were decorated with tiled mosaics, the floors were marble, and all the windows were stained glass.

Despite all this, splendor it gave off a feeling of menace. If you actually looked you could see why. The splendid mosaics were of evil creatures or great, tall, dark knights. The marble floor was black, the windows blood red, and statues of goblins or gibbering imps peered out at you from the shadowy recesses or lurked behind corners. The lights were shaded in red or black, swirling designs that added to the aura of evil power. Candles flickered, held up by statues of women in black robes, or hidden behind the hands of the imps.

Tables were scattered across this vast hall and varying groups sat at them. You could see a group in jeans and ratty t-shirts seating next to a band of people in suits and evening gowns. The only thing that didn't vary amongst them was their beauty. Every one of them was good-looking. It was almost as if they had been selected to make the restaurant look good and to add an air to it.

What was strange was that they seemed to blend in to this setting effortlessly. The atmosphere welcomed them and didn't pull back when Malik and Ryou knelt by their master's chairs. If anything it seemed to grow slightly warmer. People looked over in interest at the group and waiters argued over who was to take their orders.

Ryou looked around surreptitiously as Bakura ordered his meal. He didn't see anyone that he knew, but then, he hadn't expected to. People there apparently knew Marik or Bakura or both, and they waved. Several came over to their table to say hello and exchange courtesies. One, a man with spiky hair in three colors - red, yellow, and black - sat down with them as if he had been invited.

"Hey Yami," Marik said to him, "Decided to join us?"

"Why else would I be sitting at your table?" Yami replied, "Who's this?" He gestured towards Ryou.

"Him?" Marik replied carelessly, "That's Bakura's new pet."

"Really?" Yami was startled. "I didn't think you went in for that kind of thing Bakura."

"I don't," Bakura said calmly. "Marik kidnapped him and dumped him in my house so I didn't really have a choice. I appreciate it now though." He ran a calming hand over Ryou's hair as a giant lumbered up to them.

"Your majesty," the giant rumbled, bowing to Yami, "Sir," to Marik, "My Lord," Bakura, "We have a problem."

"Yes?" inquired Yami politely, "And that would be..."

"It's the dragons," the giant stammered, "They're invading again and-" he started crying in great snuffling sobs. "They're killing everyone." He wailed.

"Again" asked Yami in consternation. "How often do I have to deal with this?"

"I'll do it if you don't want to," Bakura volunteered, and he and Ryou had vanished before Yami could reply.

"I'm going after him," Marik announced, glaring daggers at the poor giant. "And if he gets hurt I'm going to take it out on your hide."

"Um, Marik?" Yami asked, "You... do realize that it's much more likely that he'll exterminate the dragons than anything else. I'll be surprised if they actually manage to get his clothes dirty."

Marik stared at him, "What the hell are you talking about? He isn't that good. I always beat him at games and things."

"That's because if it's a game he doesn't use magic." Yami replied serenely, "If it's serious then he will. And he'll win. I'm glad that he considers trying for the title and the leadership position to be a game, otherwise I wouldn't be the leader. He would. I think. As it was, it was largely the combined efforts of you two against the other contestants that ended up putting me on the throne."

"Actually he was only trying because I wanted to be the leader," Marik admitted. "But I'm still going to check on him."

"All right. I'm coming too then." Yami replied and vanished. Marik followed him, taking Malik with him.


	11. Ch 11

(A cliff above the giant's village somewhere in the mountains, Bakura's POV)

            The look of awe and delight on my little one's face is precious. "Do it again, Bakura-sama," he begs, "Please,"

            I laugh and make a rude gesture after the fleeing dragons. Sparks fly from my fingertips in a bright display of colors and Ryou gasps in amazement. I like the happy, peaceful expression on his face. It reminds me of how I used to look before he made me a vampire, among other things. That struggle against turning, against everything he was doing, when he forced me to accept the change. It's what made me such a strong vampire and changed me from what I was into what I am now. I never wished to become what I am now, drinking blood for food. It doesn't feel right and never will.

            What he did is not something I would wish on another living soul, although I know it happens, and often. Most vampires don't seem to see any problem with that. Unluckily for me Marik is becoming one of them.

            At least Ryou will never have to put up with it. I'd never do anything like that to anyone. Marik can do what he likes but that's his decision not mine. I don't agree with his choice but he's still my only real friend and I'm not going to give up on him just for something like this.

            Speaking of Marik, here he is. Wonder what he's doing here? He looks worried too. I wave, stray bits of light that had gathered around me flying off in another display of lights. I can hear Malik's delighted intake of breath as the sparkling lights fly around vying with each other for a better place.

            "What's going on?" Marik asks. "Where're the dragons?"

            "Most of them have flown back to their home," I reply. "I'm only hanging around to make sure they don't try to come back. And to find out why the giants want me to stay longer. I'd have thought that they'd be scared of me after what I've been doing."

            "They probably want to reward you," Yami laughed. "You have just saved them all from a pack of dragons after all." The ruby eyes turned dark. "I'm going to have to speak to the dragons and the ones who look after them. I know that the dragon/giant feud is prone to erupt occasionally but this is going rather too far."

            "Yeah, whatever. It'll probably calm down after the challenge. They're just trying to see what they can get away with while your attention is elsewhere." Marik waved a hand absently.

            "That's what I'm worried about." Yami replied. "I don't want them to think that they can get away with things like that while I rule. So I'll talk to them and see what I can do to make them stop. It shouldn't be too hard; a little bit of a fright can go a long way in these situations."

            "Whatever," Marik dismissed it. "Ruling's your business not mine anyway."

            "You wanted it to be yours," Yami reminded him.

            "Good thing I came to my senses then," Marik replied. "Imagine what would happen if I hadn't." He looked down at Malik who was watching the sparks dying around me, who knows why. "I gotta go anyway. Someone needs to be taught a lesson." And with that the two were gone.

            "Whatever," I rolled my eyes. "Tetchy bastard isn't he? Give my excuses to the giants please. I need to eat." I waited for Yami's nod and transported Ryou and I to my house, then teleporting to the street. I smirked, feeling my canines lengthen. The hunt had begun.


	12. Ch 12

Disclaimer: Look at the first word. That should be enough for you.

            Ryou curled up in a corner of the room hugging his knees. When Malik had given him the basics of how to live in the vampire's world as a human slave he had not expected to ever actually want to see Bakura. Now he wasn't happy unless the tall vampire was there.

            The house seemed empty with just him in it, and he'd already been through the things Bakura had bought him twice, trying to make the memories fill the room. But there was no substitute for his actual presence. Ryou fingered his new collar. The leather felt soft under his fingers and he could feel the indentations on the tag and think on the words engraved there.

            He had chosen the message himself. 'Ryou Property of Bakura'. It was a simple enough message but it meant everything to him. It meant the end of his freedom, the surrendering of his will, and his struggle to decide whether or not he liked it. The mental struggle was the worst part of being a slave. Having to act as though he was less than Bakura or Marik and obeying everything they said without question was hard.

            And he knew that he had it easy. Malik seemed to exist only to get hurt by Marik, and most slaves would have been punished for the stunts that Bakura found amusing. His lot may be hard but comparatively it wasn't... and it was. His life had been empty before he had been kidnapped and left on the floor of Bakura's living room.

            He hadn't had any friends; no one wanted to be associated with the weak boy with white hair that was a target for any and every bully in the neighborhood. He had at one time managed to befriend a group of people, but they didn't really like him. They just thought of him as their personal charity case.

            And now, now no one would dare to hurt him because they were afraid of what Bakura would do to him. Malik was his friend and both thought of and treated him as an equal. He was slowly learning more about the politics of the vampiric world and no one really seemed to think that he was particularly different. His white hair made him fit in more if anything.

            In a place where everyone was unusual his looks merely made him seem like just another of these. He would have stood out more if he had been normal. This was true even among the slaves as most people wouldn't bring slaves out of the home unless they were exceptionally good-looking or unusual enough to invite comment and admiration.

            It was strange, Ryou reflected, that it had taken him this long to find a place where he was accepted, and even stranger that in the place he felt he could call home, the first such he had found since his mother and younger sister had died, he was thought of as a slave. He was content in this place. It was his true home; the place where he wanted to stay for the rest of life.

            A world of vampires and other strange creatures, most of them evil, with himself as a slave to one of them. This was his soul's resting place. And his master... his master was the one he loved. Wouldn't his father be horrified at him now? He'd always had pressure on him to be normal, to accept the standards of society and conform to other's expectations. Even the fact that his love was male would have gotten him disinherited.

            The addition of vampires, werewolves, giants and dragons would have had him sent to an asylum. Amane would have understood. She always did. And his mother would have accepted whatever he did because she loved him. No matter what he did. He had been loved and accepted and happy until they died.

            When they had died though... the world had gone grey. Ryou had lost his interest in everything. He hadn't cared about the things that he had been passionate about. His grades had slipped. He'd gone to school every day with his eyes red from weeping. His few friends had deserted him for others who would at least pretend to be happy.

            He hadn't, and still didn't, understand his father's attitude. The man of the house, father and husband to the dead women, had been cold and calculating. He had thought about their deaths as a hindrance to his work and of his grief-stricken son as an embarrassment. That was when he had begun the continuing cycle of being sent from one school to another.

            His grades had continued to slip. The only subject that he still did well on was writing and even then his teachers complained that he never wrote anything cheerful and that all his works were too depressing. He hadn't told them that that was how he felt. He didn't want to be sent to a psychiatrist. He just wanted to be left alone.

            His thoughts were interrupted by the lights going on. He looked up warily and smiled, his whole face transforming at seeing Bakura standing in the doorway. "Master! You're back!"


	13. Ch 13

Disclaimer: If you haven't figured out by now that I don't own Yugioh then go away and stop reading this.

            "Master! You're back!" I smiled slightly at Ryou's exuberance.

            "Were you waiting for me?" I asked curiously. I thought the kid would've been glad to get rid of me for a little while at least.

            "Y-yes," he stammered, blushing slightly.

            "That's sweet of you," I told him "But..." I leaned down to catch his leash and tug him towards his room. "You really need to get some sleep. We wouldn't want you to drop from exhaustion now would we?"

            "Sorry master. I didn't mean to make you angry. I... I just wanted..." He paused, struggling to find some way of getting his thoughts out without offending me. "I couldn't sleep until you'd said goodnight." He whispered finally.

            I blinked at him. No wonder the boy had been so reluctant. If I weren't in a good mood I probably would have hit him for that one. He's not supposed to tell me what to do and that is definitely stretching that rule. But for now who really cares. He's not trying to disobey and I'm not in the mood to be picky.

            "Bed." I ordered him and walked out without waiting to see his response. He'll do what he's told. I, on the other hand, am going to stay up. It's not as if I need to sleep anyway. I have more than enough energy from my last victim to stay up all night.

            I tilted my head to the side. Was he crying? I could have sworn I heard him. I frowned slightly. After what he'd said I wasn't going to say goodnight; but I did want him to get some rest. He needed it after today.

            Still not really happy about the situation I walked back into his room. He was lying on the bed with his face buried in his pillow and he was definitely crying. Damn him; why can't he just be content with the way things are. He's better off than most and he knows it.

            I sighed finally and walked up to sit on the bed next to him. "Sleep little one." I said softly. "Sleep, and let your dreams carry you upon the winds of heaven." Ryou relaxed and moments later his breathing evened out, showing that he had fallen asleep. And because of such a little thing too. I shook my head and headed out towards the kitchen to grab a soda. I needed to think about this for a while.

            Why would he get so sad over one little thing? It's not like whether or not I said goodnight meant anything. So why worry about it? Why cry because of an unimportant thing like that? And why doesn't he hate me? He should. Marik may have been the one who brought him here but it would be so easy for me to take him back if I wanted to.

            He should hate me for what I've done to him. Not that I've actually done anything much, but I treat him as what he is now, and I was the one who made him my slave. No one told me to, it was and is my choice. So why doesn't he hate me for it? I'd hate me if I were him. So why doesn't he?

            It's strange. Marik would be horrified if he knew. But I think I'm starting to like my little one. He gets in my way, his presence changes everything, but, I think I like having him around. I've gotten used to him.

            Strange isn't it? I never wanted anyone else. Being alone has always suited me just fine. But now that he's here with me I don't think I want to go back to being on my own. Things are good the way they are and I don't want to change them.

            It probably wouldn't really matter though. I've never had any troubles with accepting anything that comes my way. Guess that the old proverb's right. 'Once bitten twice shy.' Complaining never gets anyone anywhere; or at least, it never did so for me. I made my own way and my own life and I'll continue to do so no matter what.

            Ryou's just one more person to protect, another burden, but not a heavy one. Like Marik in a way. I won't let anyone hurt him but I won't really show that I care for him either. It's just not my way. Marik understands. I wonder if Ryou ever will.


	14. Ch 14

Disclaimer: I won the Yugioh characters in a game of chess yesterday. Not.

            "Come on," he called. "I haven't got all day you know."

            I quickly pulled on the swim trunks he'd gotten for me and ran out to join him. I didn't understand what was going on or why he had decided to take me with him to the lakeside but he had and that was what mattered. I was going to enjoy this while I could.

            Tomorrow is the day for the kingship fight and everyone seems to be simply relaxing. I don't understand it. Tomorrow there's going to be a huge battle and it's going to be their job to keep it contained and make sure that the mortals, people like me, don't find out what's happening, yet here they all are swimming like it's a party.

            I shrugged and slid down into the water. Brrr, it's freezing! How can they stand it? Malik's here too, I notice with some surprise. I thought that he would never be allowed out again after what Marik said last time. Yami was here, and Otogi, and all the others I'd seen who had been involved with the planning of this, along with hundreds of people I had never seen before.

            "This is an unofficial gathering." Bakura said softly. Officially none of us will have ever seen any of the others before tomorrow but really we all come here the day before the fight to size up the competition. Even those who, like Marik and I, aren't actually participating, show up to see what strength the people they're going to have to restrain are. It's considered good manners to bring your own food, drink, and, if you have any, slaves." Bakura shrugged and gestured towards Malik. "That's why he's here, and why I brought you."

            I nodded, staring up at him and waiting to see what he wanted me to do. "There isn't really much for you to do here so just enjoy yourself. Go play with Malik if you want, but first give this to Marik for me all right?" He pulled a black sphere out of... somewhere and tossed it to me.

            "Yes master," I said quickly, before hurrying to get this over with. I would prefer to be around Marik as little as possible. Even though he'd never actually hurt me he always acted like he would if it weren't for the fact that Bakura didn't want him to. So I tried to stay out of his way, and normally it worked. The only problem with that plan was when something like this happened.

            "Marik-sama?" I asked hesitantly, as I got near him. I would rather not have him attack me for not warning him before I came too close.

            "Yes," he snarled, "What do you want?"

            "Master Bakura said to give this to you." I quickly handed him the black thing and backed away, treading water, trying to stay as far away as possible without him getting mad.

            "Good then," he said coolly. "Now go."

            I obeyed, swimming away as fast as I could in Malik's direction. Malik was sitting on the bank staring at the water moodily when I got to him. "Malik?" I asked, "Are you all right?"

            "Huh?" He looked up, obviously surprised. "I'm fine, just not allowed to go swimming. How are you? Is Bakura here?"

            "I'm fine," I replied quickly, "And of course Bakura's here. I wouldn't be here otherwise. Do you want to do anything? I'm sort of at loose ends at the moment."

            "Okay," He said happily. "What should we do then? I'm not allowed in the water so that's out."

            "Let's see if anyone else wants to play tag." I suggested. "There are lots of others around here who must be just as bored as we are."

            "Let's go then." He stood up as I pulled myself out of the water. "Over there first I think." He gestured towards the picnic area, where groups of slaves were congregated around the tables, setting out the food their masters had brought. We ran over together and asked everyone if they wanted to play with us. Not many of them could. Most had been told to do something, or to stay where they were, but we did manage to get a group together who could play.

            The people who agreed to play with us seemed to already be a cohesive group. There were quite a few of them, but they all, it turned out, belonged to the same master. Yami. I hadn't expected him to have any slaves, let alone so many, but it made sense. He was the king of vampires after all. He had to have something to show that he was. They all seemed to like him, and as far as I could tell, as they ran around on the grass with us, trying to catch each other, and eventually collapsing in a panting heap, none of them was injured in any way so they probably had a reason to like him.

            And from what they said then they had better reason to like him than I had to like Bakura. Still, it didn't matter. He may not have been perfect, but I still loved him. I wonder if he likes anyone? If he does it's probably some really gorgeous girl. They'd have to be good looking to attract his attention. That's pretty hard to do too.

            To get Bakura's attention you have to be either exceptionally beautiful or strange looking, or really, really good at fighting. I'm none of those, and the only reason he ever even looked at me is because Marik dumped me in the middle of his living room. I suppose I should be grateful.

            It's strange though, they all seem to think that Bakura's really powerful and really scary. I don't get it. The only thing he's done, other than his teleporting, that's magical was to use illusions to send the dragons away that one time. He seemed to think that the giants should be scared of him after that that though. I don't understand. I wonder what they mean by it.


	15. Ch 15

Disclaimer: I don't own the Millenium Ring or any of the characters used in here. I do, however own the (nonexistent) plot.

            Ryou's still thinking about magic, and trying to decide why everyone's afraid of me. Stupid baka. He hasn't even bothered to think that they might be right to be scared. He's just trying to think up reasons why they shouldn't be. And yes I know I shouldn't be listening to his thoughts, but it isn't as though I'm doing it on purpose. He's just got such an open mind.

            That or he's trying to let me see what he's thinking. Marik says that Ryou has the least open mind he's seen in anyone who's not used to being a vampire's slave, and thus used to having to shield their thoughts from their master. I just think Marik's being crazy again. He doesn't like Ryou.

            According to him I 'should have killed the killed the boy when you first found him.' If he's the one who left Ryou in my house for me to find, though, I can't see how he can complain. He's at least as much to blame for the current situation as I am.

            Not that I'm complaining. Ryou's strange though, especially the way he never complains about anything. Instead he just gets really quiet and sad. I hate it when he does that. It always makes me want to do something to cheer him up. The problem with that is simple. I don't know how. I know that I must have wanted to cheer up someone in my family at one point in my life, but I don't remember. I shouldn't expect to either. I was only eight at the time whereas now I'm several thousand years old.

            But what are you supposed to do when someone's sad and you want to cheer them up? I don't think Ryou would be happy if I just did what I do to Marik and surround him with happy thoughts. Plus he'd probably decide that I was happy because I'd made him sad, which would have the opposite effect from the one I want. I don't understand mortals anymore.

            It was interesting, though, watching the way he acted towards Marik. It's pretty obvious that he knows Marik doesn't like him. He's never that skittish around me, but around Marik he acts like a nervous horse. Sort of anyway. I'd like to talk with Marik, get myself thinking about something else, but it's more important to make sure he knows how hard it's going to be to keep the fight within bounds. It would be awful if something escaped.

            The last time the guardians messed up Atlantis sunk beneath the waves. Volcanoes had erupted. The earth itself had rebelled and both of the candidates had been killed. Needless to say, we were now very careful. We didn't want anything like that to happen again.

AN: When I said the plot was nonexistent I meant it. I'm completely at a loss for what to do with this story. Therefore it is on indefinite hiatus until further notice. If you want me to be able to continue this **_please _**send ideas on what to do next. Thank you.


	16. Ch 16

AN: Yes, I know it's short (and stupid) but it wasn't actually meant to be anything more than a diversion during a particularly boring lecture. Then I looked at it and thought 'I can use this drabble.'

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

(Third Person POV)

A blast of multicolored power burst through the protections around the fight arena, hitting the area Marik protected and slamming into Malik before being absorbed into Marik's shield. Shadows wrapped around Malik and the boy vanished from the field. There was no time given to the onlookers to think about that strange occurrence, however, as Yami slammed his opponent out of the field, defeating him, and called for the next challenger.

A tall girl strode up to the arena, cracking her rose-thorn whip, and gave the proper challenge. Her first move was to summon a trio of harpies, and her strategy appeared to be simply trying to keep Yami busy with her monsters while she worked out a spell. Yami seemed to enjoy defeating her.

Finally Seto stepped up. Everyone's attention immediately snapped over to him. This was the only _real _challenge Yami had to face. Seto smirked as he stepped up and turned to face the current ruler of the immortals. He had been planning for this day ever since he lost the last time – ten years ago – and he didn't intend to lose again.

Yami smirked. "Wasn't the beating I gave you last time good enough then?" he inquired mockingly. 'Well then, I suppose I'll have to hurt you worse this time won't I?"

Seto flushed, teeth grinding audibly as he glared back at Yami. "Shut up and fight me." He hissed, and flung a bolt of blue fire at Yami. Yami's own red aura deflected it, sending it slamming through the barriers, where the section's guardian struggled to absorb it so the bolt couldn't cause any more damage than it already had. Bakura 'ported over to reinforce the defenses with a shadowy patch that quickly melded into the transparent shield covering the fight arena before turning and transmuting Seto's blast into more material for the shield.

In the next few minutes Bakura seemed to be everywhere at once as the shield because filled with swirling red and blue auras, the gouts of blue and red bursting through the shield the only sign of battle. To the few mortals there to see it the fight looked like a spectacular fireworks display more than anything else. Around the field flames started, the scorched earth a mute testimony to the incredible forces being used in this battle.

People scrambled out of the way as yet another blast of power forced its way past the guardians. It was quickly smothered by shadows; so quickly, in fact, that it was obvious that the contestants were weakening. There was no way this could continue for more than a few seconds longer. Even those as strong as Yami and Seto undoubtedly were couldn't sustain this level of magical combat for long without being burned out by the forces they commanded.

Sure enough the gusts of magic began to fade, and the assembled immortals held their collective breath, waiting to see who their king would be for the next ten years.

The magic cleared, revealing Yami, swaying, but upright, standing over Seto's body. They couldn't tell whether the other was alive or dead, but they knew their king, and the name seemed to burst out of millions of throats.

"Yami!"


	17. Ch 17 Insanity

AN: There are no capitalization mistakes in this chapter. I'm trying to show Malik's mental breakdown, and it's not very good is it? Sorry. It's awful and repetitious, but I'm _trying_ here.

Malik shuddered, jerking backwards away from his furious master. He didn't understand. What had he done this time? He hadn't even been there. He'd been waiting at home, like a good little slave. The bitter thoughts weren't permitted to linger long. His master wouldn't like it. What had he done?

A harsh blow knocked him onto the floor, and he cowered there, whimpering pitifully. What had he done? Why did he deserve this? It hurt so much... He couldn't see, there was something in his eyes. Red. Blood. There was always blood, but it hurt so much. Why couldn't it be better?

Master wouldn't let it be better. Hate master, hate master hate master hateMasterhatehatehate. Pain. Screaming. Whose? his. It hurt, it hurt it hurt. Make it go away, _please _come and make it go away. He would come, He would, He would. It wouldn't go away, and Master was hitting him, and it hurt. Wouldn't He come? He always made it better. Let him come here, here here hereherehere! Wet. Blood. No. Tears? he didn't cry. he wasn't allowed. Master wouldn't let him. Where was He? Not here, not here. Make Him come. Nononononononono. Not make, never make, nevernevernever. There was sososo much blood and it hurt but it didn't hurt him because it wasn't hurting him and he didn't care; it wasn't him, and it wasn't HIM so who cared? Whowhowho? No one ever cared. No,nonononono. HE'D cared. HE always cared. Want need, _love_, not here, not here. Never ever ever here. Here was blood and pain but not HIM. HE wasn't here so he wasn't here either. This was the bad place, the badbadbadbadbadplace. The naughty place where Master was and he hated Master. Hate. Hate Master forever. For ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever, and _ever_!

Blackness.

Hurting. The world was shoving him. Eyes open. It helps, ithelps,ithelps. No red. he wasn't in badplace anymore. Where? Open eyes, sillysillymalik, not good for anything, no, not good at all and you know it, sillysilly. White. Pretty plain white, no red no blood no hurtingpainmakeitstopmakeitstop. Master? Master always made it hurt. Get up, sillystupidmalik. Upupupupup. Up! Hurtinghurtingbutupupupupup! Where's Master? Where's hurtingwhippingMaster? No Master? Master wasn't here? Naughtybadmalik alone?

Stand sillyhurtingbakamalik. Master gone. Find HIM now. FindHIMfindHIM. Or Master will stop you stupidmalik. you have to move naughtymaliknaughtyboy. Can't find HIM unless you move sillystupidmalik. Stand. Standstandstanding up! Hurts. Falling. Get up stupidcowardmalik. Never find HIM like this. Never, ever, ever, and then Master will come and hurt you and hurt you, and what is sillystrangelymalik wearing? It's white and white and beautiful silver like HIMHIMHIS hair, and not hurting not showing not awfuluglyMaster'sblackandpurplethatHElikesandlikesmewearing. HE wears black. Not awfuluglyMaster'sblack. Deep and nightishereyou'reasleepandnoone'shurtingyou black. Not black. Whitewhite and HIS silver. Shiny pretty silver.

Crawling. Not stand. Hurtshurtshurtsmehurts! Find HIM. HIMHIMHIMHIMHIMHIM. Ouch! Hurtshurtshurtssillymalik. Brown, wood, crack, more goldenwoodnow underneath. Pretty golden wood. Seen it, seen it know sillymalik's seen it. Where? Wherewherewherewherewhere? HIS. Pretty golden wood HIS. Need HIM. Need to _be_ there with HIM. Look up. Up, sillymalik, up. Brassybright, hurting eyes, nodon'thurtmedon'thurtmeMaster. Not Master. Not Master sillymalik. Notnotnotnotnot. Master not here, see? See? No Master. Brassybrightandhurtingthing. Grab it. Yes, sillymalik. Pullpullpull, _yes_! Moving, crawl out, HIS place. HISHISHIS! Feet. Bare. Ofcoursethey'rebare sillystupidmalik. Noshoesinside. Master says so, and HE says so too. No, no, shoes. Feet. Not Master's. Master's awfuluglybrown like uglybadsillymalik's. HIS? No. Not HIS. To dark. DarkdarknotdarkbutdarkerthanHIS. Up, sillymalik. Look up. Who? Whowhowhowhowho? Oh. HIS boy. No name; hehastohaveaname. No. Must find HIM. Not HIS boy.

"Malik?" Silly boywithnonamethatbelongstoHIM. Yes this is malik. Not,not,not Master. Never Master, please never Master.

"Malik are you okay?" Boywithnoname's talking again. "What do you want? You should be in your room." Really? Really,really,really? Does HE say that? You're not answering me boywithoutaname. Why? Whywhywhy? Open mouth stupidmalik. Not think it, not HIM, say it, say it for ears.

"Should? Does HE say should?" maliksittingupnow. WaitingandwantingittobeHIM. He says 'should'?

"Bakura!" HISboywithnoname yells. Calling HIM? Why? Badnaughty boywithnonameing. Don't tell HIM what to do.

HIM! HE'S here. HIS fingers under sillynaughtbadmalik's chin. Looking at stupiduglymalik. Why? Whywhywhy?

"Malik," a sigh. Not happy? HE'S not happy? Naughtybadmalik being worse. WorseworseworselikeMaster. Making HIM not happy. Bad, badnaughtymalik. Call Master to punish you so neverever do again. Never ever ever naughtmalik. Hurtmalik. HurthurtlikeMaster.

"Come, Malik. You need to sleep." Up, upupup! HE'S holding naughtybadmalik. Back. Back to prettywhiteroom likeHISboywithnoname's hair. No more? Whimper. No! Badmalik. Not makingnoises. Master saysnonono. Naughtybad. Make HIM not happy again. Badnaughtymalik. Need Master to hurt you naughtymalik. Don't deserve to be here with HIM. Should be in badnaughtybloodhurtingplace. Should. Shouldshouldshould.

"Shouldn't." HE says shouldn't? Shouldn't. He says. "Sleep." Eyes... heavy... why...

Blackness.


	18. Ch 18 A question of ownership

Disclaimer: see chapter one

Bakura glanced over at Ryou, who was staring at the tableau in horror. One hand smoothed the sheets he'd pulled over Malik absentmindedly, as he considered the situation. Obviously, he couldn't allow things to remain as they were, but there wasn't that much he could do without Marik's permission. The vampire laws were very strict about that. Malik belonged to Marik; therefore Bakura couldn't get anyone to help him without talking to Marik first.

"I'm going to have a talk with Marik," he told Ryou calmly. "If Malik wakes up while I'm gone get him something to eat and tell him I'm out. It should get through to him."

"How- why- what _happened_!" Ryou demanded.

"Marik... broke him." Bakura closed his eyes. "I'll see if I can get someone in here to take care of it, all right?" He didn't wait for an answer. He already knew that Ryou wasn't going to give him one – or not one that he could accept anyway. Poor Malik. Whatever it was that Marik had done to him, he couldn't possibly deserve it. His mind was in a complete shambles, and Bakura didn't understand most of what he'd picked up, except that Malik thought he'd done something wrong and needed Marik to punish him for it.

"Marik." he called, stepping inside the other's house and running a quick hand through his hair. He really should have stopped to comb it out. Marik probably had guests over to celebrate Yami's victory. Oh well. It couldn't be helped, and he really did need to speak to Marik about Malik soon, before the boy's condition worsened.

"Bakura?" Marik came into the room with a surprised expression on his face. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. What's the deal with Malik?"

"He's flipped." Bakura responded simply. "You can get a mind-healer to look at him, but other than that there's really nothing I can do."

Marik snarled. "Great. Just great. Mind-healers are far too expensive for me to hire one to look at him. He's not worth that much." He glanced at Bakura, "Take him if you want him; otherwise just get rid of him. I can find myself a new pet." a sudden smirk. "Besides, breaking them is the best bit."

Bakura shrugged, masking his feelings with his typical uncaring expression. "Sure, why not. He's already trained at least. Thanks Marik." He vanished quickly, hoping that Marik hadn't sensed his disgust that anyone would abandon someone like that. Bakura knew that if it had been him that was hurt he would have been frantic with worry, but Marik just didn't care about humans.

It didn't take more than a minute to find a mind-healer for Malik. There weren't very many of them, but the huge fees they commanded meant that most of the time people preferred to use non-magical methods instead. Bakura calmly teleported them both to his home, and took Ryou out of the room, leaving the mind-healer to her work.

"What are you doing!" Ryou demanded as soon as the door was closed behind them. "I don't know what happened to Malik, but you can't just leave him in there with some stranger! Who knows what she'll do to him!"

Bakura rolled his eyes, and cuffed Ryou lightly. The boy's head jerked to one side, and he glared at Bakura. "This has nothing to do with you." Bakura knew his voice was cold, but he didn't care. Ryou had no right to interfere with what he chose to do with Malik, especially not when it was something like this.

"You can't say that!" Ryou's face had gone red with anger. "Malik's my friend, and anything that happens to him affects me."

"Idiot," Bakura snarled. He'd been in a temper ever since Marik's comment; and now Ryou was giving him an excuse to vent it. "If you care so much, why didn't youdo something about it? I'm taking care of it now, and I won't let you interfere."

Ryou flinched away from him, bowing his head. "Yes master." He whispered.

Bakura's eyes softened; and he reached out to pull Ryou into his arms. "Shh little one," He murmured. "It's all right. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

Ryou snuggled into his arms, forgetting his grievance instantly. "It's okay..." he responded tiredly. He'd been up all night waiting for Malik to wake up.

Bakura sighed, and carried Ryou into his room, tucking the boy up in his bed and slipping out of the room, leaving Ryou to sleep in peace.

"The boy's fixated on you." Were the first words out of the mind-healer's mouth as she came out the door. "It's one of the things I couldn't change."

Bakura nodded. He'd spent some time learning about mind-healers when he was younger, so he knew that there were always some parts of the mind that they couldn't change without causing significant damage. "And the others?"

"His fear of his master, his hatred of blood, and a strong desire to show as little skin as possible." The words were recited in a lifeless manner, but Bakura could see her anger at the last one. "If it weren't Marik that was his master I'd hunt him down for what he did to that boy."

A shrug was her only answer. "So he's pretty much okay then?"

"Yes," the healer glanced up at Bakura diffidently. "His mind is not the same as it was before the breakdown, but he's regained his sanity and his memories. I am, however, slightly concerned about his fixation. If you do anything to him he may regress into his previous condition."

"So this means I have to be really careful around him?" Bakura asked.

"Treat him like he might break. He might." She said flatly. "That's all. I'll be leaving now." Bakura nodded, and ported her back to where he had found her, leaving her payment in her hands.

"Be careful with him." Bakura sighed. He'd be as careful as he could. Sending Malik back into insanity was not something he ever wanted to do.


	19. Ch 19 Naughty thoughts

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi is not my name. I own nothing except my own twisted imagination. -pouts-

What was it that Marik had done to Malik? Ryou's hands clenched on the sheets as he tried not to look at the door. He wasn't going to get up until he had made up his mind. If Bakura had hurt Malik – or even let that woman hurt him – there wasn't any reason for Ryou to get up. He couldn't love someone that would hurt his friends, but he couldn't help loving Bakura, and he needed to sort that out before he did anything else. He had to know how he was going to act before he got up, so he wouldn't get flustered and blurt it out. It would be awful if Bakura knew how he felt. The vampire couldn't possibly feel the same way about him. He was a child compared with Bakura after all.

Ryou scolded himself. He had to think this through. Bakura wouldn't hurt Malik, he liked him. He didn't object when Marik hurt him, but Marik and Bakura were best friends; so he wouldn't object to anything Marik did. The answer was simple then. Bakura wouldn't bring in some strange lady to hurt Malik if he wasn't happy about Marik hurting him. He wasn't that kind of person.

Yawning, Ryou slid out of bed. Why was it that he always felt more tired after he got up than before-hand? It wasn't fair. Swiping at the hair that fell in front of his face, Ryou stumbled into the bathroom and started the shower going. He'd feel better once he had washed up.

Half an hour later Ryou stepped out of the shower, skin red from the heat of the water, and reached for a towel. A new outfit was lying on top of the toilet seat waiting for him and, as always, Ryou blushed at the thought of Bakura coming into the room while he was having a shower to leave it there. It wasn't that he minded having Bakura come in, it was just that he couldn't help thinking about what _else_ Bakura could have done – if he felt the same way Ryou did.

This morning ritual always reminded him of his first day as Bakura's slave. After spending so long tied up on the floor he'd made himself disgustingly filthy. Bakura hadn't seemed to mind when he was showing Ryou around, but he'd learned since that Bakura was very good at showing people only what he wanted them to see. Anyway, after feeding Ryou, Bakura had washed him. Ryou hadn't actually seen what his vampiric master looked like. He'd been too preoccupied with his own situation at the time to think of seeing someone else in the same state. He cursed himself for it now. It would have been wonderful if he had a better idea of what, exactly, to fantasize about than simply seeing Bakura in tight clothing. And speaking of tight clothing... Ryou groaned. He couldn't leave the room in this state.

Before he could think twice about it, Ryou turned the shower on as cold as it would go and stepped quickly under it. Now if he could just keep his thoughts on the right track, he should be fine. A quick rub-down with the towel, and Ryou scrambled into his clothes and smiled, ready to face the day.

"Late again, Ryou?" Bakura asked him teasingly as he came out into the main room. "I swear, if you spent any more time in the bathroom you'd never come out."

Ryou flushed. "Sorry." He quickly stepped over to kneel by Bakura's chair, hoping that breakfast had been kept for him.

Bakura handed him a plate with a shrug, before turning and calling into the other room. "Malik, breakfast's ready."

Ryou looked up eagerly. He really wanted to see Malik again and make sure he was alright. When Malik had spoken to him last night he'd been so scared. He hadn't seemed like Malik anymore. He really hoped that Malik was feeling more himself now – that whatever Bakura and that woman had done with him had worked.


	20. Ch 20 To make an end of it

The End of a Life

Disclaimer: I am the creator of my own little world. Unfortunately, that world is not Yugioh.

Malik stepped into the room carefully, still uncertain of himself after what the mind-healer had done. He felt strange, but more like himself than he had for a long time. Bakura smiled at him, passing him a plate and gesturing him into a chair.

To his surprise, he felt his face stretching in a smile. He hadn't smiled in a long time, he realized dully. What Marik had done to him had driven all thoughts of happiness out of him mind completely. He barely remembered now, how it felt to be happy.

Still, he was with Bakura, and would be, it seemed for at least a little while longer. Ryou kept shooting him looks, as if he was going to flip right then and there. He saw Bakura giving him a tired grin, jerking his head at Ryou. Malik grinned back. Ryou was strange sometimes.

Eating quickly and daintily, Malik glanced down at Ryou, who still sat on the floor at Bakura's feet, but who now had a little tray perched on his lap to eat off of. There was something in his expression as he stared up at Bakura...

"Love struck," Malik said decidedly. It was unmistakable. He'd seen the look often enough to recognize it when he saw it.

"What?" Bakura looked over at him, head tilted questioningly. "Who's love struck?"

"Ryou." Malik responded without thinking, then slapped his hands over his mouth. He shouldn't have told Bakura that. Ryou was going to be furious!

Ryou looked over at Malik for a second, before returning his attention to Bakura, seeing the amazed expression on the vampire's face. "I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to – I," he stopped.

Bakura was laughing softly, leaning backwards on his chair, and shaking his head in disbelief. "I've never heard anyone apologize for falling in love before." He explained, once he'd calmed down. Malik smiled, and left the room, wishing Bakura luck mentally.

Ryou felt something inside relax at those words. Bakura wasn't angry at him. That meant he had a chance. Moving quickly, so he wouldn't be able to stop himself, Ryou leaned up and kissed the vampire.

There was no response for several seconds, and then Bakura's arms slid around him, and Ryou was pulled into the vampire's magically strong body.

"Baka," Bakura whispered. "You could have just told me."

Malik, leaning with his ear against the door, smiled and went to his room. He loved happy endings. Closing his eyes, he let the end come – the end Marik had staved off for so long. Malik's body crumbled into dust, and his spirit soared to join his family in death.

Bakura felt the magic escape past him, but ignored it in favor of showing his little mortal exactly why he should have been told earlier. He knew where it was going anyway. Even if the healer hadn't, he'd known how long it had been since Malik had been captured, and he knew what it took to keep someone alive that long.

A cruel smile crossed his face at the thought of what the magical backlash would do to Marik, and then he turned back to Ryou. His friend could wait. Unwilling to relinquish Ryou's lips, he simply picked the boy up and carried him into the bedroom...


End file.
